Cupid and Psyche: A Continuation
by SabineHolterman
Summary: This is a continuation of the story of Cupid and Psyche, my favorite myth. It is the story of what happens when Psyche's family finds out that she is a god.
1. The Warning

Cupid and Psyche: A Continuation  
By: Laura Holterman Summary: This is a short story about what happens to Cupid and Psyche after she is made a god. They have both been living happily together for about a year, and have had their daughter Pleasure. After Pleasure has gotten herself into trouble again, Psyche decides that it is time for Pleasure to meet her mortal family, and see how they live.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the gods. The only character names I own, are those created to further my story along.  
  
As Psyche sat watching her daughter play with her toys, she felt like she couldn't be happier. She had a beautiful home, a loving husband, and a wonderful child who was like her father and loved to make trouble. Ever since Pleasure had gotten her miniature arrow set from her father, she had been going around all of Olympus shooting everyone and causing trouble. Although the arrows were not as dangerous as her fathers were, Pleasures arrows still put their target in a brief love spell for about an hour. It was at first rather strange to see those gods who hated each other act as lovers. But when everyone started to catch onto what she was doing, Pleasure was looked at no longer as a young child, but as a dangerous opponent. It was only her ability to worm her way out of those situations with her bashful eyes and sweet smile that would melt every god's anger against her. Psyche was pulled from her thoughts by the loud yelling that called her name from outside of her home on Olympus.  
  
When Psyche went to the doorway to her home she saw Apollo riding in his dazzling chariot pulled by four gleaming white horses. "Hello Apollo, it is good to see you today." Psyche replied cautiously. "I hope you are having a good day."  
  
"Good afternoon Psyche." Apollo began. "As for having a good day, your daughter has once again decided to add what she thinks will be a little fun to it."  
  
Psyche tried to ask what Pleasure could have possibly done but was interrupted by Apollo straight away.  
  
"Your daughter shot myself and one of the wood nymphs of the Aegean forest this morning. We both were I am hesitant to say, acting not as we should have." Apollo tried to act calmly but was having a very hard time keeping his temper down. "We both humiliated ourselves in front of the other tree nymphs and my sister."  
  
Psyche knew of how Apollo's sister Artemis loved to run and hunt through the forests with her followers during the day. "I am sure that it was very embarrassing to you and I apologize on behalf of my daughter. I can assure you it will not happen again."  
  
Apollo hesitated, as if making up his mind about something before he finally spoke. When he finally spoke his words left a chill in Psyche's heart which she would never forget. "Because you have never done anything to loose the trust of any of the gods, I will give you this one chance to straighten out your daughter. But if you cannot get her under control, I have the permission of Zeus to take your daughter and teach her a lesson of my own. And trust me, after I get through with her, her eyes and smile will not be able to get her out of her predicaments."  
  
With his warning, Apollo turned his chariot and headed of into the sky. Psyche stood still, hoping that what she heard was no true. She knew it was a real threat though, when Apollo mentioned Zeus's name. No one used the king of the gods' name in a threat, unless they could really count on Zeus to back them up. Finally turning to look at her daughter, she could not help but feel a little worried.  
  
"Oh my darling, you are going to turn me old before my time." Psyche smiled at her little joke, and laughed at how from time to time she still thought of herself as a mortal. Then picking Pleasure up, she said to her, "your daddy and I are going to have to have a talk when he comes home tonight. Oh boy are we going to have a talk."  
  
* Please read and review. Depending on the response, I will add more chapters as time goes on. Please don't flame me though. I am a new writer and need all the support I can get. Thanks! 


	2. The Plan

Chapter 2  
  
Author's Note: When I wrote this story I guess I didn't give as many specifics as I should have. I thought of a few things I should have put in on Wednesday morning. 1) When I wrote that Pleasure had been born about a year ago, I actually envisioned Pleasure as looking like she was about three or four. I got the impression that when you are born a god, you age at a different rate than mortals. I mean look at Hermes, just when he was a baby he stole Apollo's cows. 2) When I wrote that Pleasure was in the Aegean forest, she was not there alone. I was thinking she was there with her father for a little while. I just did not write it in like I should have. 3) I also assumed that Pleasure has wings like her father and can use them to fly around.  
  
When Cupid got home that evening, Psyche was ready and waiting for him. She had a feeling he might know that he was in trouble. He got home a lot later than he usually did. She figured that he was trying to avoid getting yelled at. When he walked into their bedroom, Psyche was waiting on their bed. "Welcome home sweetheart." Psyche said with a smile.  
  
"Oh hello my darling." Cupid said cautiously. "How was your day?"  
  
"Oh, it was ok. I saved a few marriages from being torn apart by the parents, played with my daughter, and oh yeah had a visit from Apollo. He had a few interesting things to say." When Psyche finished she was a little happy to see that Cupid looked a little nervous.  
  
Cupid swallowed before he spoke. "Oh really, he came to visit you?"  
  
Psyche didn't feel like beating around the bush any more, and decided that it was time to get serious about the current situation. "All right Cupid, I think we really need to get serious about what happened this afternoon. When you took Pleasure out with you this afternoon, you weren't watching her the whole time were you?" Psyche saw the sheepish look on his face and got the answer to her question. "All right that answers my question. I guess I should also assume that you know what happened today when your daughter shot Apollo and the wood nymph."  
  
"Yes." Cupid began. "I was out with Pleasure taking care of a pair of young mortals who were constantly fighting, when I turned around and Pleasure had flown off. I was flying around searching for her, when I found Apollo and the nymph. When I realized what had happened to them, I knew we were all in trouble."  
  
"Cupid why didn't you tell me what had happened when you brought Pleasure home?" Psyche asked Cupid.  
  
"Well, actually I went to try and find Apollo and talk to him about what had happened. I wanted to try and reverse the affects of Pleasure's arrows. By the time I got to the forest, Apollo and the nymph were both gone. I assume he came to our home. What did he have to say?"  
  
Psyche could see that Cupid was worried, and any of the anger she had for him, completely disappeared by the time he was finished talking. "Well I have to say he didn't come here very happy. He drove up in his chariot and said that if we didn't learn to control Pleasure, he had Zeus's permission to take her from us. You know that he wouldn't have used Zeus's name if he wasn't serious." When Psyche finished she could feel the worry on her face that matched Cupid's. "Cupid what are we going to do? You know that we are going to be watched now."  
  
When Cupid spoke, Psyche could tell that he wasn't faking his worry and was having a hard time accepting losing his daughter. "Well, maybe we could do something to show the other gods that we are serious about teaching her to not be a trouble maker."  
  
Psyche couldn't think of anything that would appease the gods of Olympus, and at this point was expecting to lose her daughter at any moment. She walked over to the window of her home, to keep Cupid from seeing the tears that were running down her face.  
  
Cupid was running possible places to send Pleasure when an idea came at the last to him. "Psyche, we have been together for almost a year now, and you have told me how at times you still think of yourself as a mortal. What if you would take Pleasure to earth?"  
  
Psyche was at a complete loss for words, and couldn't believe what her husband was suggesting. Although she did think of her family from time to time, she had closed the door on that part of her life. She never expected to go back to her old home. "Do you mean take her to see my family?"  
  
"Yes. She would see what it is like on earth, and she would be able to learn about her mortal family. Also with you two on earth, the gods would be Pleasure free for awhile, and have the chance to cool down." As Cupid spoke, he couldn't help but feel more and more like his plan would work. The only thing he would have to do is convince his wife that his plan would work.  
  
While Psyche was thinking the plan over, she could not help but feel a little worried over going back to earth. She could not help but agree that this was their only plan at this moment. "While I believe that this could be an option, I don't know about returning back to see my family. They all think that I am dead, devoured by a terrible monster." Psyche couldn't help but laugh at the reference to her husband. He was a terrible monster that would change the lives of mortals and gods alike, but he was not the terrible beast that her family had expected. "Psyche, I know that this will work. When you are with your family, the gods will not want to make a big commotion on earth. Trust me, it will work. And if you still feel unsure I will come and visit you every day." As Cupid assured Psyche of his confidence in the plan, he knew she was starting to accept the idea.  
  
"All right, lets do it. Tomorrow I will take Pleasure to see my family, and give them a surprise of a lifetime." As Cupid and Psyche, hugged each other they both knew that their life together was going to take another turn. Hopefully a turn that would be better for all three of their lives. 


	3. Author's Note

Authors Note: In a few days, I am leaving on a trip to Texas with my college band. If I have the time before I leave, I will try and write another chapter. If not, I will definitely get to work on the story when I get back from my trip. ( 


	4. The Next Morning

Cupid and Psyche: Chapter Three  
  
Authors Note: In one of the reviews I got, I was questioned on why I named Cupid and Psyche's daughter Pleasure. I have numerous mythology books that all have the myth of Cupid and Psyche in it. But believe it or not, only one of the books mentions Cupid and Psyche having a child. For some reason I thought the daughters name was Hope, but the only name I found was Pleasure. I thought for a little bit I might actually use Hope as the daughters name, but I kept thinking of Zena: Warrior Princess and Gabrielle's daughter. So I thought I would go with the myth book.  
  
Chapter Three  
  
Psyche woke up the next morning and heard the birds of Olympus chirping outside of her and Cupid's bedroom window. She sank back into the covers of the bed and then realized that Cupid was not lying next to her. She sat up again and looked around to see if by chance he had left a piece of parchment explaining why he had left early. Psyche was leaning over to look on her bedside table when she heard the familiar sound of wings. She looked up to the doorway and smiled as Cupid walked into the room. "Oh darling, I did not expect you to be up this early!" Cupid stated when he saw that Psyche was awake.  
  
"Good Morning. I think I woke up early because I am a little anxious about today." Psyche responded with a heavy sigh.  
  
"I know what you are saying." Cupid responded as he walked over to the bed. "I woke up not knowing what was going to exactly happen today. I tried to go back to sleep and finally just got up and went for a flight around Olympus. I ran into Demeter and she mentioned the warning she heard Apollo give you."  
  
"She knows what's going on?!" Psyche said with a gasp. "I wonder who else knows about what happened."  
  
"Apparently all of Olympus is talking about what happened and is divided on what Zeus should do about Pleasure. Half want us to be able to take care of her, and the other half want her gone as soon as possible." Cupid replied sadly. "I did get some support from Demeter though. I guess being a mother herself, she understands what it would be like for us to loose Pleasure."  
  
"She has to understand with her daughter having to leave her to go down to Hades for half of the year. I guess it is good to have some people on our side." Psyche sat for a moment and thought of what a fiasco their problem had become. She was about to ask what they should do now, but didn't get the chance because of one of the servants knocking on the door. "Yes, who is it?" She asked the person on the other side of the door.  
  
"It's me Madam. Kalia."  
  
"Oh good morning Kalia, please come in." Psyche greeted Pleasure's nanny. Kalia had been taking care of Pleasure ever since she had been born. She was a great help to Psyche, who quite often remarked how she could not have found a better person to take care of Pleasure. Psyche loved being with her daughter, but when her duties as a goddess were needed; Psyche knew she was leaving Pleasure in good hands. "How are you this morning?"  
  
"Just fine Madam. But when I got up I went into the young mistress's room to check on her and found her already up and ready to start her day." Kalia replied as she handed Pleasure to Psyche.  
  
"Thank you Kalia. Good morning sweetheart, are you behaving today?" She asked as she tickled Pleasure's toes.  
  
"Kalia, I believe you most likely have heard about the problem we had with Apollo yesterday." Cupid spoke p wanting to get right down to business.  
  
"Yes I am afraid I did Master." Kalia responded sheepishly.  
  
"It's all right. Pretty much everyone on Olympus knows about what happened yesterday." Cupid assured her. "Psyche and I were discussing what we should do about our problem. So we have decided that Psyche is going to visit her family with Pleasure. She will stay there for a couple of weeks, and hopefully Apollo's anger will calm down. The problem is, we do not want any of the other god's interfering with Psyche's visit, and need none of them to know where Psyche and Pleasure have gone. So we would like you to stay indoors for awhile so that the other servants do not notice that Pleasure is not with you. Do you understand?"  
  
"Yes master. I do not want to see Pleasure taken away anymore than you or Madam. I will do as you say."  
  
"Thank you Kalia. I know we can trust you." Psyche spoke up. "You may go attend to your other chores."  
  
"Yes Madam," Kalia said as she bowed and left the room.  
  
Psyche turned to Cupid then and said, "I guess I should get going now. I do not want to waste time and chicken out." She said with a small smile.  
  
Cupid just walked over to where Psyche was standing with Pleasure and put his arms around his family. He held them both close, and wished there was somewhere that the three of them could escape too. But knowing that there was no where they could hide from the other gods he put his wish out of his head. He kissed the to of Pleasure's head and said to Psyche, "I will come and she you in a few days. Don't worry everything will be all right."  
  
"All right I will see you soon." Was all Psyche could say without crying. Then kissing Cupid quickly on his lips, she turned around and walked out the door. Concentrating on her hometown as she did. Psyche knew that when you were a god and concentrated on somewhere hard enough you would be in that place instantly. She took one last look at her home that she had grown to love so dearly, and started her journey to her old life.  
  
*Well I finally have updated. Like I have said in other postings, I have started school back up again so I will not be able to update as frequently. Also I am working on an X-men movie story right know while I work on the mythology story. That probably is not a good idea but I am going to rotate back and forth adding chapters between the two stories. So please be patient and keep reviewing. It will give me the boost to add more chapters!( 


	5. The Dead Princess

Chapter 4  
  
Authors Note: Just One! Ok when I was trying to find a name for Psyche's home kingdom, I looked through all of my mythology books and couldn't find one name. So I invented a name for her hometown. Pariah (pronounced like Mariah) Enjoy!!!!  
  
Chapter 4  
  
When Psyche started to go down to earth, she had originally planned to just appear in her family's castle announcing her presence that way, but changed her mind as she was making her way there. She thought maybe it would be too much of a shock for Pleasure and herself to just appear in front of her parents. Instead she appeared right outside of the city by the entrance gate. When Psyche finally go to the gate, she at first kept Pleasure and herself invisible thinking maybe she would explore her home without anyone seeing them. But then changed her mind and took off her invisibility and started to walk through the gate. As she walked through the street, she saw all the familiar people and shops she had known since her childhood. She couldn't help but smile when she saw old Taman the cobbler, who had always been a reliable businessman with the royal family. He had always provided Psyche's parents and sisters with the best shoes and an update about the kingdom. She started to walk over to his shop when she realized that all the action around her had stopped, and people were staring at her.  
  
"Look, it's Princess Psyche."  
  
"It can't be, she was killed by a monster over a year ago." Psyche heard two men say to each other. She turned around to see who it was and was greeted with a sharp intake of breath when the crowd saw Pleasure. The crowd was staring at Pleasure's wings and had a look of fear in their eyes.  
  
Psyche looked from the crowd to Pleasure and decided that maybe her daughter was too much for the mortals of the city to handle. "Pleasure sweetie, could you please do Mommy a favor. Would you please make yourself invisible to the mortals, I think they are a little afraid of you."  
  
"But Mommy, why are they afraid of me? They are being silly."  
  
"Well to them we are special sweetie. Let's try to be nice to them. I'll tell you what, as long as you stay invisible and behave, you may fly above me to the castle." Psyche said in reply to Pleasure's statement. "But listen to me, as soon you do something I think you shouldn't, I will bind your wings and call your father. All right?"  
  
"Yes, Mommy," Pleasure answered with a huge smile, and a shake of her small white wings. As Pleasure rose above Psyche, she made herself invisible to everyone except for her mother and gleefully flew around the mortals' heads.  
  
Psyche smiled as her daughter made the familiar tinkling sound that signaled an action by a god. She also saw the gold sparks that emitted from Pleasure's body and knew now that the mortals of her village could no longer see her daughter. Perhaps it is better that way. Psyche thought as she looked at the crowd staring at her. She turned to look back at Taman's shop hoping to find an ally, but was greeted wit the sight of two of the palace guards. They were just as she remembered them, tall and frightening. The two that approached her now did not have familiar faces, but she could see the markings on their clothes, which indicated they were the King and Queens personal guards.  
  
"Mommy, who are they?" Pleasure asked flying close to Psyche's shoulder. "They're scary."  
  
"It's all right darling." Psyche said trying to reassure her daughter. "You know how Uncle Ares likes to fight and act tough? Well these men are like him. They are called soldiers, and protect your Grandma and Grandpa." Psyche turned her head to look at the two men again and saw they were looking at her curiously. "Pleasure sweetie, I need to talk to the two men. You may go explore, but stay where I can see you."  
  
"Ok." Pleasure simply replied.  
  
Psyche watched her daughter fly off, and turned around to face the two men that were staring at her. "Do I assume correctly that you two are persona guards for the King and Queen?"  
  
"Yes miss. The crowd says that you are the Princess Psyche, but you can't be because the princess was devoured by a monster quite a long time ago." One of the soldiers said in reply.  
  
"Actually it was only about 16 months, and as you can see I wasn't devoured by a monster. I have come back to Pariah to see my family. Will you be escorting us to the palace?"  
  
The two guards just looked at each other and silently tried to find out whether the other thought that Psyche was an imposter or maybe a crazy person. When they both looked back to her, it was clear to Psyche that they were far from believing who she was. "All right miss, we will take you to see the King and Queen."  
  
"Thank you. Let me get my daughter before we go." Psyche said as she turned to see where Pleasure had gone off to. "Pleasure. Please come down here, we are going to go see Grandma and Grandpa now." Psyche watched as Pleasure came out from behind a house and flew down to where she was standing. "I want you to stay with me now. The soldiers are going to take us up to the palace and I don't want you to get lost in the palace's hallways."  
  
"Ok." Pleasure said as she drifted down into Psyche's arms. Pleasure was looking at the people in the crowd when she saw the two soldiers staring at Psyche. "Mommy, the scary men are staring at you."  
  
"That's because they cannot see you. They think I am talking to myself. It's all right soon everyone will know about you." Then turning to the two soldiers she simply said, "shall we?" and started to walk toward the castle with the two guards trailing behind her. As Psyche walked up the long path to the path to the castle, the crowd parted and stared wondering if she was their beloved who had left them. When she had left, she was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world. It was also believed by many that she was Aphrodite come down to the earth. But the people could see that there was a different beauty to her now. She still looked like the youthful women who had so often had been worshiped, but yet she seemed different.  
  
Psyche was watching the people as she walked up to the people as she walked up to the castle. She knew it looked strange to the crowd to see her walking down the street carrying something they could not see. She would have loved to see herself the way they were seeing her, but knew now that she was a god she was always going to be able to see things that as a mortal she would not have. Psyche was climbing the final stairs to the entrance of the palace when the familiar feeling of dread started to make it's way into her stomach. She clutched Pleasure closer to her body and cautiously walked to the doors that lead into the main hall. "Well, here goes nothing." She said under here breath and walked through the doors that the palace guards held open for her. As she walked over the threshold and saw two familiar faces sitting at the head of the hall, she knew that there was no turning back.  
  
*Cliffhanger! Dun, Dun, Dun!!!!! Ok, I finally have updated. Sorry about it taking so long for another chapter to be uploaded. Please keep reviewing it really helps me improve my writing and it gives me motivation to continue the story. Thanks!!!! 


	6. The Prodigal Daughter

Chapter Five  
  
Authors Note: Just one authors note today. When Psyche goes back to her home and is in the castle to see her parents again. I picture the castle to be very gloomy and all the people in dark clothes that signal they are in mourning. I also picture the clothes to be like the heavy clothes they wore in the days of merry old England. They are supposed to be unlike the usual breezy cool clothes that the people usually wore.  
  
Chapter Five  
  
Psyche stood in the doorway to the great hall and looked up to see the place where she had grown up. The tall white pillars, which were running on either side of the long hall, were draped with dark hangings and dead flowers. In between the pillars, Psyche could see the carved stone statues that were representative of the gods that Psyche had come to know personally. Each statue was set in their own archway, which held the symbols for each god or goddess. By the statue of Hera, there was a carving of a peacock, her sacred bird, and by the archway dedicated to Dionysius; there were a bunch of grapes sitting at the statues feet. It was as she looked at the statue of her mother in-law that Psyche realized the statues looked nothing like the people she had come to know on a day to day basis. Compared to those gods, the statues sitting in her parent's great hall were vulgar representations of the true person.  
  
Psyche was looking at the statues when she heard someone clear their throat from behind her. She turned around and saw one of the soldiers that had met her in the village holding his hand out toward the other end of the hall. Psyche turned back around and continued walking towards where her parents sat in their thrones. As she slowly walked, she noticed how quiet the great hall was even though there were of people scattered all over. When she was younger, she could remember times when the hall was filled with music and laughter. "This place is sad." Psyche heard Pleasure say. "Everyone is quiet and dark."  
  
Psyche was going to ask what Pleasure meant by dark when she saw what all the members of the court were wearing. The women all had dark dresses that covered their arms and dropped to the ground on. The men all wore dark pants and shirts which were covered by dark cloaks. Everywhere Psyche looked, she saw dark blue, black, or purple. She even saw her mother and father wearing black outfits wear they sat on their thrones. They also both looked extremely rundown and were sitting with their heads hanging. They were so gloomy that even when Psyche finally stood in front of them they didn't even look up. It was only until one of the guards spoke up that they acknowledged her presence.  
  
"Excuse me your majesties, but we found this woman walking in the village who claims to be the Princess Psyche. We brought her before you, just as you commanded." At the sound of her name both the king and queen looked up with their mouths hanging open. As the king stared, the queen stood up with tears in her eyes and started to walk toward Psyche. It was at this point though that the king stood up and held the queens arm to keep her from going down the stairs from her throne to Psyche.  
  
"Wait my dear; we don't want what happened lat time to happen again."  
  
"Lat time I was not sure, but look at her you can't deny who she is!"  
  
"Excuse me but obviously there was some incident that was distressing for you both. But could you possibly tell me what happened to upset both my mother and father?" Psyche questioned and saw the tears of joy fall from her mothers face while her father looked on with doubt.  
  
"Well Madame, a short while ago a young woman came to our home claiming to be our daughter Psyche. She did a very good job too. She convinced the queen and most of the wrest of the court that she really was the princess. It was only until we had discovered her real past as a con three weeks later, that we had to go through the pain of having a lost daughter again." Psyche could see the hate and longing that rested in her father's eyes. She could tell he was trying to be strong not only for himself but also for her mother. "So you will excuse me if I am a little wary of people who claim to be my daughter." He continued with a very angry tone in his voice.  
  
"Mommy are those people my grandma and grandpa?" Psyche all of a sudden heard Pleasure ask. She had forgotten about her daughter not knowing anyone in the room.  
  
"Yes sweetie, those people are my mother and father your grandmother and grandfather. Now your grandparents and I have some things to discuss, so why don't you go look at all the statues. But don't leave the hall! I mean it!"  
  
"Ok." Pleasure said and flew off on her tiny wings. Psyche watched as she flew off and turned her attention back to her parents who were both looking at her with frowns upon their faces.  
  
"May I ask who you were talking to?" The king asked cautiously. Psyche realized they could not see Pleasure and must have thought that she was crazy.  
  
"I was talking to your granddaughter." She simply replied. Then she continued talking before either of them had the chance to question her further. "Look I know you must think that I am crazy and are not your daughter, but I assure you I am. If you would like some proof, I am happy to tell you anything you would like to know."  
  
"Very well, we shall put you to the test. When you were born, what did the midwife say about you?" The king questioned.  
  
"She said she could tell I would be full of beauty and would be a star among mortals." Psyche relied calmly remembering the unhappiness her beauty had brought to the first part of her life.  
  
"That is correct, but you could have gone to those present at my daughters birth and found that out from them." The king countered. "What happened when you were seven that I made you promise not to tell anyone?"  
  
"I was out playing with mother's clay horses, when I fell and broke them. I also scraped up my knee but you told me not to worry and let you take the blame." Psyche replied and saw a spark of recognition in her father's face and the hardness start to recede.  
  
"Yes that is correct." The king said his voice quiet and shaking. "I just have one last question. Where have you been for the past year?"  
  
Psyche smiled and thought of all that had happened to her in the year that she had been gone from her old home. "I have been living with my husband and raising my daughter far off from here."  
  
"But we were told you were to be the bride of a terrible monster. We had all assumed that you had been devoured, and had been taken to the Elysian Fields." The queen spoke up, believing wholeheartedly that her daughter had come back to her.  
  
"Yes it did say in the oracle that I was to be the wife of him who is powerful over both mortals and the gods. But my husband is not really the terrible monster you all think he is." Psyche could see the looks on her parent's faces as she spoke about Cupid. She was about to tell them who her husband really was when she heard a small voice calling from the hall.  
  
"Mommy, Mommy. They have a statue of me over there by the lady with the swans." Pleasure exclaimed as she flew back over to Psyche. "There is a little carving of me with my wings and arrows."  
  
Psyche looked over looked over to where Pleasure was pointing, and saw the statue of Aphrodite and Cupid. Though on this particular statue, Cupid was portrayed as a little child that gazed adoringly from her feet up at his mother. "Pleasure darling, you see the statue with the wings? Well that is not you, but it is suppose to be you father."  
  
"What are you talking about? That looks nothing like Daddy!"  
  
"On Earth many people believe that your father is a little child who goes around shooting people for fun. They don't know him like you and I do."  
  
"Oh." Pleasure said not believing that mortals were that ignorant.  
  
"Now I want you to make yourself visible to everyone so that you can meet your grandparents." Psyche looked over to her parents and watched the expression on their faces change to astonishment as Pleasure shimmered into view. "Mother, Father this is my daughter, and your granddaughter Pleasure."  
  
The king and queen both gasped as the tiny figure in Psyche's arms appeared to them. She was small and had beautiful golden hair and blue eyes. But the thing that astonished them most of course was her wings that came from her back. "This is your daughter?!!" The king asked with a high pitched voice.  
  
"Yes Father. I suppose I should tell you exactly who my husband is. Think about the oracle. It said that I would marry the one who has power over mortals and gods alike. Well I can assure that Zeus is all powerful and cannot be swayed easily. Only when it comes to matters of the heart can the mighty king be toppled." Psyche saw a look in both her mother and father's eyes that she knew meant that were starting to understand who she really was talking about.  
  
"You don't mean?"  
  
"Yes Father, my husband is the god of love himself, Cupid."  
  
*Whoo! I think this has to be my longest chapter yet! Or maybe it isn't you never know. Any way please keep reviewing, just like any other author I like all the reviews I get. Plus believe it or not, if I get a bad review I actually appreciate those to because they help me write better. Thanks and Have a Good Day!!!! 


	7. The Introduction

Chapter Six  
  
Authors Note: I'm sorry I have not been updating lately, it is getting close to the end of the school year for me, and of course the teachers are all piling on the big projects and homework. So I will try and update as much as I can. Here are a few authors' notes for this next chapter though. *In all of my mythology books I could never find names for Psyche's parents or sisters so I made some up for my story. Psyche's parents' names are King Aroon and Queen Rasea, and Psyche's sisters names are Malia and Seren.  
  
Chapter Six  
  
"Your husband is who?" Queen Rasea finally asked after staring at her daughter for a few seconds.  
  
"Cupid Mother. My husband is the god of love."  
  
"I thought I heard you right." The Queen said and sighed a she collapsed onto her throne. She just sat there with her mouth open, and was not able to say anything for a very long time.  
  
"Your husband is Cupid." King Aroon said slowly. "How did this happen?"  
  
"I'll tell you Father, but please sit down I don't want you to make yourself sick." Psyche said as walked up the stairs to where her parents sat on their thrones. "Here Mother why don't you hold Pleasure while I talk." The queen snapped out of her daze as Psyche handed Pleasure to her. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hold her granddaughter as first but as Pleasure sat in Queen Rasea's lap, the queen started to feel her love for her only grandchild grow. Even though the little person in her lap was special, the queen knew that she was a part of her family.  
  
"Well I guess we could start at when you last saw me." Psyche said as she seated herself on an ornate wood chair that she had placed in front of her parents. "When you last saw me it was at the end of my "wedding" march up the hill into the mountains. After you left me, I sat on the hill crying for a short time, afraid of what was going to happen to me. I was sitting there feeling miserable for myself when I felt a strong breeze about me. The breeze picked me up and told me that it was Zephyr the west wind and my future husbands servant. He was to take me to my home where I would be taken care of. Zephyr dropped me off at my first home and then I was show in by invisible servants, who fed and bathed me in scented oils in preparation to meet my husband. When he finally came, it was quite dark in the room and he did not allow me to see him. This same thing happened for a few weeks, and then I started to feel lonely so I begged that my sisters be allowed to visit me. Although reluctant, Cupid allowed them to come visit me. I showed them my new life, and I am ashamed to say that Malia and Seren became jealous. They got me to admit that I had never seen my husband and planted the seed of doubt into my head. They convinced me that I should hide a lamp and knife in my room, and during the night kill my husband because he surely was a monster."  
  
"Well I did want they said but when I finally got a look at Cupid I realized I could not kill him. I stood there staring at him and a drop of hot oil fell on his shoulder. He woke up and saw that I knew who he was. He flew off and said to me that he knew that this would happen. After he flew off, I ran after him and the house and servants all disappeared. I decided that I didn't want to let him go, and started the long journey to Aphrodite's temple. When I got to her temple, she gave me a number of tasks to prove I was worthy of Cupid. One of the tasks I had to carry out, was to go to the underworld and get a portion of Queen Persephone's beauty for Aphrodite. When the queen heard my story, she gave me her beauty and sent me on my way. On the way back to Aphrodite's temple, I foolishly decided to use some of the beauty to make myself more desirable to Cupid. But as soon as I opened up the box, a deep sleep fell over me. During all of this Cupid had forgiven me, and came to find me. After he removed the spell form me, he took me up to Olympus and I was given ambrosia the drink of the gods. Once I drank I was made into one of the gods, and we were officially married by Zeus. Ever since then I have lived happily with Cupid and a short while later we had Pleasure."  
  
When Psyche finally finished talking, she realized that not only were her parents listening to her, but the whole court in the hall had moved closer and were listening to her. "Well, I have to say that is an amazing story." King Aroon said sitting back on his throne. Then after a brief pause he looked at Psyche and said, "It is wonderful to have you back with us, but I would like to know one more thing. Why were you chosen to be Cupid's wife?"  
  
"When I was being worshiped and called Aphrodite on earth, the temples dedicated to my mother in-law were being deserted. She sent Cupid down to earth to make me fall in love with a foul man, but he accidentally scratched his own hand with one of his arrows, and fell in love with me. You know what else happened after that." Psyche told him. She knew it was hard for her mother and father to accept what had happened to her, and gave them the chance to process what had happened to her through their heads.  
  
The queen looked down at Pleasure who was contently sitting in her lap, and smiled. It was indeed good to have part of her family back with her. She stood up and walked over to the king and handed Pleasure to him. As she watched her husband cautiously hold his granddaughter, she knew that no longer was there going to be sadness in their family. "May it be known that today our daughter, the Princess Psyche, has come back to us." She suddenly said in a loud voice. Then turning to the court that had gathered a t the foot of the stairs that lead to the king and queens throne, she proclaimed loudly. "Yes she has come back to us. Let the kingdom no longer mourn. Let us now rejoice and sing praises to the gods who have given her a new life and a beautiful daughter to continue our line."  
  
As the queen finished talking, the crowd began to cheer and proclaim their happiness throughout the grand hall. Psyche was watching the merriment in the hall and thought that the moment couldn't get any better when she heard a familiar voice speak up next to her. "Wow looks like its party central here." Psyche turned and saw Cupid leaning against one of the pillars running along the side of the hall. She was about to run over to him when she heard a small voice call out.  
  
"Daddy!" Pleasure exclaimed and flew over to where Cupid was standing.  
  
"Hello sweet pea." Cupid said as he wrapped his arms around her daughter. "So I see that Mommy is letting you use your wings. Have you been a good girl for her?"  
  
"Yes she has been good for me. Hello darling." Psyche answered as she walked over and pecked Cupid on his check. "I told her if she did anything wrong that she would loose her flying privileges for awhile."  
  
"Psyche darling, I'm not sure I approve of you threatening my daughter like that." Cupid stated sternly, but was unable to hide the smile on his face. He knew his daughter loved flying to much to loose that privilege.  
  
Psyche was about to retort back at Cupid when she heard a voice form behind her. "Psyche, is there someone there for us to meet?"  
  
Psyche turned around and saw that both her father and mother were looking at her with quizzical expressions on their faces. "Oh yes!" She exclaimed as she remembered that she still had to introduce her parents to her husband. "Just give me one minute."  
  
"So can I assume that your parents know about everything that has happened to you?" Cupid asked as he looked at his in-laws.  
  
"Yes, I told them everything. So, you can make yourself visible to them. They deserve to know what their son in-law looks like." Psyche turned to watch her parent's faces as Cupid appeared in front of them. Just as the king and queen had stood amazed when Pleasure had first appeared to them, they both stood dumbfounded at the sight of one of the gods standing in front of them. "Mother, Father this is my husband Cupid."  
  
"I am honored to meet you both. It is indeed a privilege to meet the two people who have allowed me to have such a beautiful wife." When Cupid had appeared before them, he saw the astonished looks on both of their faces, and in order to avoid an awkward silence he had spoken up and praised his in-laws hoping to get on their good side.  
  
"Mother, Father please say something." Psyche pleaded as she saw how shocked her parents were to have an actual god in front of them.  
  
King Arron was staring at his son in-law, and only snapped out of his astonishment when he heard Psyche's plea. Trying to act every bit of a king, he then puffed up his chest and cleared his throat. "It is I who is honored to have you here. It is good to meet our daughter's husband, the man who has made our life happy again. Welcome to our home." As he finished a huge smile come over his face and he gave a small bow to his son in-law. "Now as my wife was saying before. Our daughter has come back to us; let us now have a grand celebration and mighty feast." Then he turned from the royal court to Cupid and Psyche, and said "Now let us all go forth and celebrate."  
  
"That sounds grand, but I am afraid I will have to celebrate later." Cupid said reluctantly. "I would love to stay, but I have work to take care of. I will return in a short time to join the party."  
  
"Certainly my son, we will look forward to your return." Queen Rasea said finally speaking up after being silent from the astonishment of meeting Cupid. When she had spoken though, Psyche could tell that Cupid and her mother were going to get along just fine.  
  
"Thank you, Psyche I must be going now, but can I speak to for just a second?"  
  
"Sure. Mother could you please watch over Pleasure for a minute? I will be right back." Then without waiting for an answer, she shimmered out of the hall with Cupid to the fields that ran along the kingdom and finally got to great her husband the way she had originally wanted to. She threw her arms around Cupid's neck and gave him a huge hug as if she had not seen him for a week.  
  
"Well I am very happy to see you too." He laughed as Psyche put her arms around his neck. "I would love to stay and continue this reunion but I really have work to get to. I just wanted to stop and tell you that some of the other gods on Olympus found out what we are doing with Pleasure."  
  
"What! Who found out?" Psyche exclaimed surprised that the news of their plan had spread so quickly.  
  
"Well my mother decided to show up unannounced at home, and found none of us there. When she found one of the servants, she told them she would turn her into a gorgon if she did not tell her where we all were. Well unfortunately when the servant was telling my mother where we had gone to, Artemis and Apollo rode by and overheard the conversation. So now I am expecting there to be trouble up on Olympus and maybe down here."  
  
"Oh boy." Psyche said with a sigh. "Well I guess I should watch over my parents and Pleasure to make sure nobody tries anything."  
  
"That sounds like a good idea. I guess I should get going now, but I will be back in a short while to check on you. I love you."  
  
"I love you too and I will see you soon." She said sadly and then watched as Cupid left in a shower of golden sparks. She turned to look at the castle that was once her home and knew that just when she thought her life couldn't get anymore complicated than it already was, it just had.  
  
*Please keep sending me reviews. I really appreciate getting them whether they are good or bad. Have a good day! 


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